Date: ______Approved: ______
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Minutes of the Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee Meeting Claiborne Robertson Room, 4:00 pm Monday, 16 June 2014
There were present: Ivan P. Jecklin, Co-Chair Karen C. Abramson Louise B. Cochrane Michael M. Connors Margaret N. Gottwald Dr. Elizabeth F. Harris Jane Joel Knox Steven A. Markel Dr. Shantaram K. Talegaonkar William A. Royall, Jr., Ex-Officio
By Invitation: Alex Nyerges, Director Stephen D. Bonadies Dr. Lee Anne Chesterfield Margaret Irby Clement Dr. Sarah Eckhardt John Fuller John H. Hager Terrell Luck Harrigan Jil Womack Harris Li Jian Claudia Keenan Laura Keller Charles Levine Dr. Mitchell Merling Robin Nicholson Cameron O’Brion Christopher Oliver John Ravenal Dr. Susan Rawles Dr. John Henry Rice Dr. Peter Schertz Richard B. Woodward Dr. Sylvia Yount
Absent: Cynthia Kerr Fralin, Co-Chair Susan S. Goode James W. McGlothlin 2
Dr. Claude G. Perkins Dr. Lindley Smith
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair, Ivan Jecklin, at 4:48 pm.
II. MINUTES
Motion: proposed by Mr. Jecklin and seconded by Mr. Levine that the minutes of the last meeting of the Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee, held on the 19th of March 2014, be approved as distributed. Motion carried.
III. PURCHASE, GIFT, AND LOAN CONSIDERATIONS
At 4:51 pm the meeting went into closed session.
Motion: proposed by Mr. Jecklin, and seconded by Mrs. Cochrane that the meeting go into closed session under Section 2.2-3711 (A) (6), (8) and (9) of the Freedom of Information Act to discuss the investing of public funds where competition or bargaining is involved, where, if made public initially, the financial interest of the Museum would be adversely affected, and to discuss and consider matters relating to specific gifts, bequests, and fundraising activities, and grants and contracts for services to be performed, and to discuss and consider matters relating to specific gifts, bequests, and grants. Motion carried.
At 5:40 pm, the meeting resumed in open session.
Motion: proposed by Mr. Jecklin, and seconded by Mr. Royall that the Committee certify that the closed session just held was conducted in compliance with Virginia State law, as set forth in the Certification Resolution distributed. Motion carried.
A roll call vote was taken, the results of which are outlined in the Certification Resolution.
Motion: proposed by Mr. Jecklin, and seconded by Mr. Royall that the Board ratify the recommendation of Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee to accept
the following purchase considerations from the funds specified:
1. Walter Ufer (American, 1876-1936), On the Rio Grande (Rio Grande November), 1927, oil on canvas, 25 x 30”, signed lower right: w ufer, from the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art, Vendor: Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
3
2. Janet Scudder (American, 1869-1940), Little Lady of the Sea, 1913, bronze, 85 x 25 x 28”, inscribed on base: J. Scudder and Alexi Rudier Fondeur, Paris, from the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art, Vendor: Alexander Reeves Fine Art, Richmond, VA
3. Albert Herter (American, 1871-1950), Spring Reverie, 1901, watercolor, gouache, and pencil mounted on board, 17¾ x 11⅞”, signed lower left: Albert Herter with artist’s device, from the John Barton Payne Fund, Vendor: Debra Force Fine Art, New York, NY
4. Arthur Dove (American, 1880-1946), Mars Orange and Green, 1936, watercolor, pen, ink and pencil on paper, 4 x 6”, Signed lower center: Dove, from the John Barton Payne Fund, Vendor: James Reinish & Associates, New York, NY
5. Roman, Romano-Egyptian Mummy Mask, Hadrianic (ca. 130 CE), plaster, glass, pigment, 3-15/16”h, from the Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, Vendor: Arielle Kozloff Brodkey, Cincinnati, OH
6. Indian, Rajasthan, Bikaner, Koftgari Steel Shield (Dhal), 19th century, steel, gold, silver, 22¼” dia., from the Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, Vendor: Ben Janssens Oriental Art, London, UK
7. Deme Yukan Mitsuyasu 出目友閑満庸 (1577 -1652), Noh Mask: Chujo, 17th century, Japanese, Edo period (1615-1868), cypress with pigment on gesso, 7⅞ x 5-5/16 x 2⅝”, artist’s seal on reverse: Tenkaichi Yukan 天下一友閑 (First under Heaven, Yukan), from the Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, Vendor: Carole Davenport, New York, NY
8. Diviner’s Slit Gong with Power Attachments, 19th–20th century, Yaka culture (Democratic Republic of the Congo), wood, glass beads, mirror, coin, pigment fiber, cloth, medicinal ingredients, 15¼”h Royal Drinking Horn, 19th–20th century, Bamum culture (Cameroon), buffalo horn, 15”long Power Figure (Nkisi), 19th–20th century, Yaka Culture (Democratic Republic of the Congo), wood, fiber, cloth, medicinal ingredients, 4¼”h
Source: Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund Vendor: Allen and Barbara Davis, Alexandria, VA
and the following gift considerations:
1. Twenty-four works released from the life-estate of Rachel Lambert Mellon: American Drawings Henry W. Waugh (American, 1835-1865): From the Buggy, pen and sepia ink on paper, 5⅝ × 8” A Horse (In shafts, facing left), graphite on paper, 4 x 5” Two Horses (In shafts, facing left), graphite on paper, sheet: 4¾ × 5⅞” .Animal Studies, five on one sheet, graphite on paper, 3½ × 2⅜”, 3½ × 2⅜”, ⅞ × 1¼”, 3¼ × 2⅛” , 3¼ × 3⅝”, and 3¼ × 3⅝”
4
English Sporting Paintings Henry Thomas Alken (English, 1785-1851), four works from the series A Steeplechase at Market Harborough, Leicestershire, ca. 1840-50, oil on panel, each 10 × 14”: The First Fence; Taking a Brook; Bad Fall at a Paling Fence; and Coming up to the Finish Sir Edwin Landseer (English, 1802 –1873), A Terrier on a Step, oil on canvas, 7⅛ × 8⅛” Sir Alfred J. Munnings (English, 1878–1959): Study of the Pytchley Bitch, 1928, oil on panel, 16 × 16” Pilot, one of Freeman’s Hunters, Pytchley, Brixworth, 1928, oil on board, 16 × 18¼” European Paintings Kees van Dongen (Dutch, 1877-1968), Haystacks, n.d., (possibly ca. 1904-05), oil on canvas, 19⅝ x 25½” Raoul Dufy (French, 1877-1953), L’Atelier au bouquet, 1942, oil on canvas, 25⅝ × 31⅞” Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903), Still Life with Bowl, ca. 1889, oil on canvas, 8 x 12⅜” Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1835-1890), Daisies, Arles, 1888, oil on canvas, 13 x 16½” Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903), The “Royal Palace” at the Hermitage, Pontoise, 1879, oil on canvas, 21⅜ x 25⅞” Rene Princeteau (French, 1843-1914), Le Tilbury, oil on canvas, 15⅞ × 22⅛” Georges Seurat (French, 1859-1891), Houses and Garden, ca. 1882, oil on canvas, 11 x 18½” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901), Norfdac, 1881, oil on panel, 9¼ × 5⅝” European Drawings Leon Bakst (Russian, 1866-1924), La Chasse, pencil and watercolor on paper, sight: 12⅛ × 18⅝” Eugène Boudin (French, 1824-1898), recto: Deux Bretonnes en costume , verso: untitled graphite and watercolor sketch, 10½ × 8⅛” Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (French, 1803-1860), Studies of Hounds, black chalk on grey paper, 6¾ × 10⅞” Georges Seurat , Enfant à l’echarpe, black conte crayon, sight: 6½ × 4” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Le depart, pen and ink and pencil, sight: 6 × 9¾”
Donor: The Rachel Lambert Mellon Estate, Upperville, VA
2. James Abbe (American, 1883-1973) [Actress Jane Cowl], 1922, gelatin silver print, 10 x 8” Jessica Tarbox Beals (American, 1870-1942) [Cigar Store Figure], 1911, printed ca. 1927, gelatin silver print, 4-1/16 x 3-15/16” Felix Bonfils (French, 1831-1885), [Egypt], ca. 1880s-1900, albumen photograph, 7¾ x 10¼”
Donor: Richard Kremer, Williamsburg, VA
3. Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848-1933), designer, for Tiffany Studios (1902-1932), manufacturer, Vase, ca. 1910, Corona, New York, 4-11/16 x 6¼” dia., signed on base: “L.C.Tiffany Favrile”
Donor: Charles L. Vincent, Falls Church, VA
4. Clare Leighton (American, born England, 1898-1989), Gristmilling and Marble Quarrying (from New England Industries set for Wedgwood Queen’s Ware), 1952, transfer-printed creamware, ea: 10⅝” dia.
Donor: Stephen Borkowski, Provincetown, MA 5
and the following deaccession consideration:
1. Tlingit (Alaska), Mudshark Shirt, early 20th century, felt, flannel, pearl buttons, glass beads General Endowment Fund, 55.31.10
2. Tlingit (Alaska), Bear Song Leader’s Staff, 20th century, wood, cow hair, cotton cord, feathers, down, cedar, pigment; General Endowment Fund, 55.31.1
Recommendation: Deaccession with intent to repatriate.
and to approve the following commission:
Esther Mahlangu to paint two canvases.
and to approve the following loan recommendations made by the Staff: Loans from the collection:
1. Norman Lewis, Post Mortem, 1964, oil on canvas. Gift of the Fabergé Society, 2001.9.
Exhibition: “From the Margins: Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, 1945 – 1952” Venues & dates: The Jewish Museum, September 12, 2014 – February 5, 2015
Recommendation: lend with courier.
2. Salvador Dali, The God of the Bay of Roses, 1944, oil on canvas. Gift of the Estate of Hildegarde G. van Roijen, 93.111.
Exhibition: “Dali Up Close” Venues & dates: Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, September 27, 2014 – February 16, 2015
Recommendation: lend.
3. Edward Troye, Richard Singleton with “Viley’s Harry, Charles, and Lew,” 1834, oil on canvas. Paul Mellon Collection, 85.645.
Edward Troye, The “Undefeated” Asteroid, with Ansel (His Trainer) and Brown Dick (His Jockey), 1864, oil on canvas. Paul Mellon Collection, 85.647.
Exhibition: Edward Troye (working title) Venues & dates: National Sporting Library & Museum, Middleburg, VA, October 25, 2014 – March 29, 2015
Recommendation: lend
4. Roy Lichtenstein, Gullscape, 1964, oil and acrylic (magna) on canvas. Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis, 85.418.
6
Exhibition: “The Sea” Venues & dates: Mu.ZEE, Kunstmuseum aan zee, Ostend, Belgium, October 25, 2014 – April 19, 2015
Recommendation: lend with courier.
5. Fred Tomaselli, Woodpecker, 2008, acrylic, gouache, photo collage, resin on wood panel. Purchased with funds contributed by Pamela K. and William A. Royall, Jr., and with the Sydney and Frances Lewis Endowment Fund, 2009.333.
Exhibition: “The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art” Venues & dates: Smithsonian American Art Museum, October 31, 2014 – February 22, 2015
Recommendation: lend with courier.
6. John Leslie Breck, Grey Day on the Charles, 1894, oil on canvas. J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art, 90.151
John Singer Sargent, The Sketchers, 1913, oil on canvas. Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund, 58.11
Mary Cassatt, Child Picking a Fruit, 1893, oil on canvas, Gift of Ivor and Anne Massey, 75.18.
Claude Monet, Field of Poppies, Giverny, 1885, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 85.499
Claude Monet, Camille at the Window, Argenteuil, 1873, oil on canvas. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 83.38
Claude Monet, Field of Poppies, Giverny, 1885, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 85.499.
Exhibition: “Monet and American Impressionism” Venues & dates: Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, February 3 – May 24, 2015; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tenn., June 26 – September 20, 2015; Telfair Museums, Savannah, Georgia, October 16, 2015 – January 24, 2016
Recommendation: lend the Breck. Deny the Sargent, which is committed to another exhibition during this period; deny the Cassatt, which will have recently returned from a major exhibition, “Degas / Cassatt” at the National Gallery of Art and is too critical to the galleries to lend to an exhibition of this general nature, and deny both Monets because Mellon loan numbers will be at their limit during this period.
7. Pierre Bonnard, Apple Gathering, 1895-1899, oil on canvas, Millennium Gift from the Sara Lee Corporation to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 98.34
Exhibition: “Pierre Bonnard (1867 – 1947), Painting Arcadia” 7
Venues & dates: Musée d’Orsay, Paris, March 16 – July 19, 2015; Fondation MAPFRE, Madrid, September 10, 2015 – January 6, 2016; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, de Young, February 6 – May 15, 2016
Recommendation: lend with courier.
8. Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun, Portrait of Joseph Hyacinthe François de Paule de Rigaud, Comte de Vaudreuil, 1784, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. A. D. Williams, 49.11.21
Exhibition: “Elisabeth Louise Vigée Lebrun” Venues and dates: Galeries nationals du Grand Palais, Paris, September 21, 2015 – January 11. 2016; Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 1 – May 15, 2016; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, June 10 – September 12, 2016.
Recommendation: lend with courier.
9. Francisco Goya, General Nicolas Philippe Guye, 1810, oil on canvas, Gift of John Lee Pratt, 71.26
Exhibition: “Goya’s Portraits” Venues & dates: National Gallery, London, October 7, 2015 – January 10, 2016
Recommendation: lend with courier.
10. Claude Monet, Irises by the Pond, 1914 – 1917, oil on canvas, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 71.8
Exhibition: “Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse” Venues & dates: The Cleveland Museum of Art, October 11, 2015 – January 3, 2016; The Royal Academy of Arts, London, January 23 – April 10, 2016
Recommendation: lend with courier.
11. Frédéric Bazille, The Artist’s Studio, Rue Visconti, Paris, 1867, oil on canvas. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 83.4.
Exhibition: “Frédéric Bazille and the birth of Impressionism.” Venues & dates: Musée Fabre, Montpellier (a FRAME museum), June 25 – October 16, 2016
Recommendation: lend with courier.
Changes to Loans previously Approved
1. Byzantine, 4th century, Ring depicting the Bust of Ascdepius (‘Gold Horoscope Ring’) Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 67.52.11
Exhibition: “Time in Antiquity” 8
Venues & dates: Institute for Study of the Ancient World at New York University, October 22, 2015 – April 3, 2016
Loan approved September, 2013; new dates for this exhibition are approved.
Loans Denied
1. Hubert Robert, The Finding of the Laocoön, 1773, oil on canvas, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund, 62.31.
Exhibition: “Il Fascino e il Mito dell’Italia dal Rinascimento al Novecento,” an exhibition project for “Expo 2015” Venues & dates: Villa Reale, Monza, Italy, April 22 – August 30, 2015
Reason for denial: this painting is a key work in the Vaulted Hall Gallery, and was lent to the Neoclassicism exhibition at the Louvre a few years ago. We expect to lend it to the 2016 Hubert Robert retrospective at the National Gallery of Art, and wish to have it on view for our visitors until then.
Motion carried.
IV. OTHER BUSINESS/ADJOURNMENT
Sylvia Yount reported on the End of Year gifts and the Director’s discretionary purchases.
Director’s Discretionary Purchases:
1. Robert Capa (Hungarian, 1913-1954): Battle of Rio Segre, November 7, 1938, 1938 Four-man Negro Jug Band, Hot Springs, Arizona, 1940 Arnold Eagle (Hungarian, 1909-1992), One Third of the Nation, Lower East Side, ca. 1935 Ferenc Berko (American, born Hungary, 1916-2000), Train Lines and Wires. ca. 1949 Andre De Dienes (Hungarian American, 1913-1985), Sunday Morning, ca. 1950
Vendor: Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY Source: Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
2. André Kertész (American, born Hungary, 1894-1985): Paris, 1929, gelatin silver photograph mounted on board, printed late 1950s-60s, image: 7⅝ x 9⅝” Fire Escape, New York, November 8, 1949, gelatin silver photograph on mount, printed in 1960, image: 13-15/16 x 10½”, sheet: 9-15/16 x 8”
Vendor: Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, IL Source: Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund 3. Georgy Kepes (Hungarian, 1906– 2001), Untitled, ca.1939, vintage silver gelatin print, signed on verso 9
Cornell Somogyi, (American, born Hungary, 1910- ): Untitled (Street Scene), 1936, vintage silver gelatin print St. Endre Gypsy Dwelling, 1946, vintage silver gelatin print, titled by artist on verso Ervin Marton, (Hungarian, 1912–1968) Untitled, Wales, ca. 1950, vintage silver gelatin print Eve Besnyo (Dutch-Hungarian, 1910–2002), Peacock, 1931, vintage silver print, 8¼ x 7”
Vendor: Steve Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Source: Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund
4. Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976), Jose Limon at Mills College, 1939, silver gelatin photograph, sheet: 10 x 8”, image: 8-3/8 x 7-11/16”
Vendor: Wendy Halsted Gallery, Franklin, MI Source: Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
5. Brittany Nelson, Gelatin Relief #1, ed. 1/1, framed: 31 x 31⅛”, sheet: 27 x 27”
Michael Lease (American, born 1972), FTLW#03292008 (Bellevue Chinese Witch Hazel), 2008, framed: 21 x 27¼”, sheet: 17¾ x 24”
Vendor: 1708 Gallery, Richmond VA Source: The Aldine S. Hartman Fund
No additional business was brought before the Committee and the meeting was adjourned by Co- Chair, Ivan Jecklin at 5:45 pm.
MOTION: Mr. Jecklin MEETING: Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee SECOND: Mrs. Cochrane DATE: 16 June 2014 10
CERTIFICATION OF CLOSED MEETING
WHEREAS, the Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of The Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and
WHEREAS, Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this Committee that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee hereby certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification resolution applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered by the Art Acquisitions Sub-Committee.
VOTE
AYES: Jecklin/Abramson/Cochrane/Gottwald/E. Harris/Knox/Markel/Talegaonkar/Royall
NAYS: None
[For each nay vote, the substance of the departure from the requirements of the Act should be described.]
ABSENT DURING VOTE: Connors
ABSENT DURING MEETING: Goode/McGlothlin/Perkins/Smith
Recorded by: Laura Keller Assistant to the Secretary of the Foundation